Hello Everyone!

We're delighted to have a new management-focused forum for savvy spa career professionals. We'll do our best to bring you an information and communication recource that's worth the time and trouble to log on for. You won't find everything here but, if you're truly success-minded, we think you'll find our Forum the ultimate place to learn how to achieve your business goals. As before you can count on your Preston Inc. friends to generously share career growth and spa management strategies that have helped so many of our peers earn more money than ever before! We do this by emphasizing what really matters in the quest for a rewarding return on your life's work. We hope you'll join and contribute your own words of wisdom in this new Forum!

My best to you,

Douglas Preston

Thanks for hosting this new forum! I'm looking forward to some great spa business discussions and our usually comraderie and fun!

Woohoo
Nice topics!
........I didn't read the registration notes, just clicked "agree," what did I just sign away?????

Well for starters you gave away Ivan.

No really all you signed was be nice, and if you prefer to talk about tech stuff or be in a neutral place, go to spaboard.com.

Take Ivan. Actually, we sell him cheap, and then make 'em pay well for us to take him back.

Great pic!

I am Michelle Bocchicchio (bo-key-key-oh) - it's a long one, I know! Preston Inc. Rep and licensed esthetician. I currently reside in Norfolk, VA due to my husbands Naval career. I love the "skin" business and I'm happy to join in and hope to contribute intelligent fodder as well as learn from everyone here for my own professional career.

Welcome to the board! We're just getting started, but this will be a great place to ask your pressing business questions. Goodness knows, the more resources for spa pros, the better. Look forward to seeing our old friends and meeting new ones!

Hello Everyone,

I am an esthetician that owns a mobile day spa - for the last 2 1/2 years. I am now working on opening a 3,000 square foot stationary salon and spa as well as my mobile spa.

I love all the info I have learned from the spaboard, and I look forward to learning lots on this board too!

Hi,

My name is Michelle and I'm a solo esthetician and own a skin care studio in Cedarburg, WI

I'm happy to be here.

Welcome!
I am very excited about all the possibilities and opportunites to share with you here at our new Preston Spa Forum.
Gail
Gail Mayes LMT
Preston Inc
gail@prestoninc.net

Hi Everyone!

I'm Gina. I'm a solo esthetician, working at a small studio in downtown Santa Rosa, California as well as from my home studio. I'm happy this forum finally is up and running!

- gigibear

Hi,
I'm LynnH from Bradenton Florida. I have just relocated my business after having leased space in a full service salon for five years. I now share space with a massage therapist who does neuromuscular treatments and naturopathy. It's like starting over going from a busy (but fun) salon atmosphere to a serene
more professional space. So, with that said, I will be asking lots of questions on "making over" my business.
Also want to send out a thank you to Gail for getting me started with my Preston prodcuts.

LynnH

The site looks wonderful! Congratulations! The topics are so unique--I've not seen any other business offer such a variety for discussion. Kudos!

Katse

Hi Katse and everyone else here,

Thanks for the thoughtful comments and the support. We hope we can help you grow and get more out of your career through the content here! Great to hear from you all!

My best,

Douglas Preston

Hey Hey Hey! So nice to "see" everyone! I'm a solo esthetician who has subleased half of a hair salon as my skin care studio for nearly 10 years. (Gosh it's gone by so fast) in Northern Virginia (just outside DC) The salon where I sublease was recently sold and I am forcing myself to reevaluate my future business plans. So among exchanging ideas with everyone, I'm anxious to hear other peoples "growing/evolving" stories/suggestions.

All the best!
kva

Hello all, Anna M at Wolf Song Skin Care checking in.

I am a solo practitioner in the lovely eastern Idaho region. My little business came into contact with the Prestonites one year ago this month. In that time I've created my own skincare line, managed to create goals, stretch goals and pie in the sky goals and realize they are all attainable.

My practice is 75% hair removal and 25% facials with lots of retail to all comers. It's not Douglas' idea of fun but I really do enjoy what I do. I work three days a week, and every other Saturday. Not long hours, just 10 hour days but that gives me 3 and 4 day weekends to enjoy myself and isn't that what we work for? to be able to enjoy our leisure time? I know it's my goal!

My biggest achievement just occured at the end of August. My business has now grossed to date this year what we made last year and we've got four months to go!!!! Barring any major complications we will post a six figure gross this year with a very hefty profit margin. Kudos to the entire Preston Team for making this possible for one little solo girl in a very rural area.


Thanks everyone!

Anna M
Wolf Song Skin Care
Idaho Falls

I'm so happy to see the Preston forum up and running! I've been waiting, and excited!
I am a spa owner of in Montana, an RN, mom of five and wife of a very patient man!
I look forward to learning as much as I can, since I am somewhat secluded here.
My spa is about 1900 sf, and we're busting at the seams. We are in the middle of a MT turnover for our decondary staff... we are fortunate to have an awesome primary staff.
I am looking to improve my management skills ( I'm a softy), and learn how to manage our revenues to secure a solid future for the spa and my dearly beloved employees. (Not to mention I could use a little less stress!)
I look forward to this venue more than I could express! I depend on it!!!!
Thanks for getting it up and running so quickly.
Sue

Hello Anna and Sue,

Thrilled to see you here and to read your experiences in the profession. We at Preston are very proud of Anna's accomplishments and growth as she's put the business management techniques we teach to excellent use. You deserve full credit for that! Education is great but execution of that education is everything. Many people come to classes with the best of intentions but then cannot find the will or time to put that knowledge into action. Anna is not one of them—she's a real driver! Sue, the "softy" in you as you described is a beautiful quality so far as compassion is concerned but it's a real liability in spa management, yet a very common one. At the center of the spas we consult with is are owners that have a difficult time setting and maintaining personal/company boundaries with employees. Some of those employees then, sensing the weakness, quickly take advantage of the power imbalance. They discover that demands, complaints, anger, passive aggression and other manipulations deliver the things they want from you, and then you're in real trouble! I believe that one of the most positive benefits for any spa owner lies in the strength such a role requires of us. We either succeed as a more confident and determined individual or we suffer under the freight of bullying. It's truly amazing and gratifying to watch some of our clients and colleagues gather the steel needed to be an effective manager/leader of people. I could name dozens of them with Anna being a prime example. Sue, you'll come along for certain!

We enter this business for so many personal reasons (I wound up in esthetics as a result of a failed attempt at hairdressing following a decision not to become a family therapist after college ). The hot pursuit of money and a craving to manage people is usually not among them. But management becomes a self-assigned torment for those that were successful enough as practitioners or crazy enough as investors to want to own a larger spa operation. Few realize or consider carefully what a management role will mean in terms of hiring, leading, time demands, hard work, financial risk and emotional upheaval. That was certainly true for me. So, we have to play a challenging game of catch up—the real test of a business owner. Having a supportive mate is a wonderful advantage even if all they can do is keep the wine glass and tissue box full for you!

We created The Preston Spa Forum as a resource for building a better business and career. Over the years our team has offered much valuable and free management help for anyone willing to read it or ask for some help. And we're proud of that fact. We have detractors, too. It came to my attention this morning that one of the numerous spa boards is dedicating time and energy to criticizing this company and its products. That's common and fair in the world of business. It's worth finding and reading such comments. A not-too-careful look at the threads often reveal something obvious: people that have a history of struggle, repeated career mistakes, victimization, and a general unhappiness in life. The spa world is littered with people that spend a great deal of time denigrating and complaining about their situation instead of learning to make positive change in attitude and method. You will hire many of these in the course of your management life, as I suspect you already have. It's easy to attack when you don't have to face the target and easier to be an authority when you don't have to live off the profits of your work. Anyone can do that.

Look up Bellanina Spa in Ann Arbor, MI: http://www.bellanina.com. Nina Howard is a true success story; a woman very near financial business collapse and struggling to manage her people. This woman put knowledge to WORK and has changed everything in the process, including having won The Day Spa Association's Distinctive Day Spa of the Year award last January. She climbed an emotional and personal change mountain in order to do that, and succeeded. She's also a beautiful individual that didn't need to become Cruella DeVille in the process of gaining the confidence and will to manage better. Write to her! She's quite an inspiration and open as a business colleague!

Another great success is Iatria Day Spas in Raleigh and Cary, NC: http://www.iatria.com. Erika Mangrum, owner, comes from outside of the beauty business altogether. Began her first day spa some years ago and really suffered both financially and spiritually in the beginning. But, this woman puts her energy into success, not vitriol, and has achieved substantially over the course of her ownership. 4 locations strong so far and growing, this profitable business has made Erika a genuine leader and inspiration to us all. She wins awards and was even asked to teach in the University of California, Irvine's Spa Management Certification Program. Now that's something worth a read.

Christopher Watt Esthetics in West Hollywood, CA: http://www.christopherwatt.com. is a wonderful story of personal achievement. This former staff esthetician lost in a large spa machine in S. Cal began his own tiny skin care business some 6 or 7 years ago. A virtual unknown at that time, Chris has become a true rising star in the industry (just look at his press page!) He can claim Cameron Diaz among his many clients, has some real talent working alongside him, and is one of the most generous and caring people you can ever meet. He also works like a fiend on his business—long weeks and days—which has much to do with his growing success. I've witnessed enormous personal change in Chris over the years that I've known him and am proud of what he's accomplished. Visit him sometime or write to him. You'll be amazed at his willingness to share and by his appealing charisma.

If success is in your future you will need these key ingredients:

1. A serious plan: You know what you want and will stop at NOTHING until you achieve it. This will demand lots of personal sacrifice and risk on your part but, if you arrive at your goal, will never regret the investment.

2. Strong personal boundaries: the ability to be fair and to say no without caving in or bearing a guilt-overload. You simply cannot get ahead when you're emotionally overwhelmed or constantly bending the company to meet the endless and often unreasonable demands of the people that work for you. Creata a system that you believe is fair, have some flexibility in it, and stick to your guns. Otherwise, you're doomed.

3. Constantly learn, adjust and try again. My own company is nearly nothing of what it was in the beginning, and neither am I or that matter! Never give up! Failure isn't an accident for many but, rather, an unseen but daily crafted goal.

4. As my own mentor told me many years ago, never let a goat into your garden. The goats are the ones that chew up the good stuff and leave the poop behind. Do not let them in. Keep company with positive and successful people. We have more than enough goats already.

5. Celebrate your achievements and don't dwell on your percieved shortcomings. Hey, if you have only one client this week and two the next that's 100% growth! Becoming depressed that you don't have the 40 clients you hope for is a serious and self-defeating habit, and it'll ruin your enthusiasm and outlook. It's all part of the mysterious and wonderful adventure we call a business career, whether you're a solo esthetician like I was in the beginning and Anna is now, or a hectic spa owner with lots of chicks to feed. Every day you're still in business is a divine miracle although we can see it as a virtual hell.

We here at Preston wish you all the luck and hope for a continued supportive friendship!
(unedited post so please forgive the spelling errrrrrrrorrrrrrs)

Douglas,
Wow, thanks for the inspiration.... I am very teachable, and have implemented the strategies I learned from the round table business discussions last Feb at the Day Spa Expo. 'Got those done in April: 10-15% increase in menu prices, services shortened to 50, min rather than on the hour, and sales trained my front desk staff, and got my PPL, for example. I had a whole list, and 'got 'er did! I also came away with a renewed strength of purpose that I have a responsiblilty to manage my super-busy spa deliberately. My vision is what realized the spa, and I needed to compartmentalize my roles... a managerial role being kind, reasonable but very objective with the spas' needs first. It's been tough, but with practice I feel more comfortable. I still continue to second guess myself at ALL stages of my performance, never feeling that I do enough, well. (there's the softy), but I TRY to keep that between myself and my husband.
Funny you should mention 'goats'... I opened the gate to let my first goat out of the field yesterday... in the 2 1/2 years we've been open, a few goats have wandered off in the past, (thankfully), but I've never had to shoo one off! Tough day, but it was the right thing to do.
I was present when Nina Howard received her award... She sounds awesome, and has done so much. I couldn't help but think with additional learning and hard work (which I am not afraid of), that will be Essentials Day Spa one day....
A girls' gotta dream....
I am SO loving this site, it's exactly what I have been missing! THANKS y'all!
Sue

Hi Sue,

Are you the manager of the day or what?! Thrilled to hear that you put all of those strategies to work, and so quickly! I have a special request for you (and anyone else that have used the management tool I teach): Would you be willing to make a running list of the changes you made since in the last year and the impact they had on your business? So much of what Preston Business Solutions recommends terrifies spa owners, fearing that all of the employees will quit and the customers will leave in droves if they follow our plan. A testimonial from those that have gone forward would do much to help others decide whether or not such adjustments to management would work for them, too. I'd also like to move this thread to the "Staff Management" forum. Would you be willing to blog your experience for us here?

Douglas,
Thanks for your kudos! I appreciate all of the fab advice I've been afforded by y'all! I would be happy to share some of my experiences as we've made changes... See you in Staff Management!
Sue

Hey all you cool cats! My name is Lydia from Montebello, Ca. (about 15 min. form downtown L.A.) I recently got my license in July and just got my first job last week ! My future goals are include me going out on my own. As a mom I need to make the most amount of money in the least amount of hours, so I have definitely met like minds here!

Right now I'm just learning as much as I can about skin care and business, which brings me to the Mastery Course that Douglas will be doing this Oct. I won't be able to make it this time around but I am putting it in my budget for next year so keep me posted!

Hi Lydia! Glad to have you here. Welcome!

Glad to finally be here, thanks for all your hard work. I look forward to being part of the team.

Hello everyone! Nice to find this message board. Management info is hard to find in the spa biz, especially for tiny-one person operations like mine.

I've done well, though! AND I'm selling my business because we are moving to Texas. If you are interested please check out my ad

http://www.prestoninc.net/SpaForum/index.p...dpost&p=304

Glad to be here!

Best,

WooHoo! I'm glad to have arrived. I'll have big news on Tuesday but until then I'm glad to be with my "tribe".

Sandra

Sandra, great to see you and your daughters' smiling faces again! Welcome to you and all the other new members!

Hey All!!!

Im a Little slow lately:( I just found out you did this Forum!!!

So Here I am!!!!!


Bat Cat aka bkniwxr

Welcome bat cat! Love the photo!!

Hi everyone!!!

I have been off the computer for a little while trying to get over a flu bug I have had for a while... Getting better now thank goodness!!

My name is Trey, and I am account rep for DP (Douglas) and Lisa now I believe going on 5 years. I live in the Northern California, and I have to say that love the team that has been assembled at Preston, I the job that I do for them and I love being in this industry!

Hope to get acquainted with you all, so please keep the posts coming!!

Trey

Hi..
I have been busy so have not been on any boards lately...went to logged on to spa board to ask a PL question and didn't see the topic........anyway I guess I have been away for awhile..(busy runing my business) it has been all most two years now! WOW how time flies!

Glad I found ya !

Hello to all who remember me!

dawn
The Skin Spa at Orange Hills
3626 East Chapman Ave
Orange, CA 92869
www.skinspaorangehills.com

Hi Everyone!
My name is Karen Welch. I'm a solo practitioner in Austin, Texas. I'm thrilled to have found your forum and look forward to reading, learning and sharing with my peers.
Happy Holidays to All!

Welcome Karen! Happy to have you join the group!

Hi Karen,

Very happy to have you join our forum! Lots of support and knowledge available here so dig in!

Hello to all. I am Stazha from Louisiana. This is an astounding website for communicating and I am glad to be here. I just finished the program of massage therapy and see a road of success. My plans are to communicate as often as possible to share the world of spa. Once again it is nice to be here and I like speaking to individuals who share the same goals. Stazha

Stazha, welcome to the board!

Looking forward to hearing more from you here. Thanks for saying hello!

Welcome Stazha!

We've been a little slow around here as our team has been heavily involved in new projects but we promise to liven it up now! Feel free to ask any questions you may have about this career and the business of it.

Hi everyone,

My name is tamara and I just opened my dream spa last Wednesday. Its been a heck of a roller coaster ride so far and only looks to get better. You can check out my spa at www.earthlydelightsdayspa.com. I have been a massage therapist for 8 years and have been dreaming of doing it my way the whole time. So I have taken the big plunge and opened my own place. I have everything to learn but I am off to a great start because I have preston making my own product line and I have support when I freak out. Looking forward to learning lots of good stuff.

Thanks,

Tantrictami

Hi Tamara!

Welcome to the family! I'm really looking forward to hearing more from you.

Will we meet you in person at the Day Spa Expo next month?

GREAT website!

Welcome to all the new folks! As Douglas said it's been a crazy January and I know I haven't been on board here as I usually am, but we will be back around! Looking forward to hearing more about your businesses!

Hi everyone, (DISCLAIMER: I don't de spell check in here soo have mercy and ignore my bad grammer and sometimes english) Usually just ramble on... You will love my run on sentences HAHAHA
gee..I guess I have been gone awhile. I had no idea preston had a board...well actually I thought Spaboard WAS prestons forum. Shows what I want know. I went on there and was directed here.

So here I am, was a member of spaboard in the beginning.
started a day spa just celebrated my two year anniv this past March. YAY for me
I have a passion for skin care, working on my post grad through IDI I ahve more class to take.
While running my business I decided it was important for me to have my massage license so did that full time as well and got it done in 10 months (that was last sept) some of my classmates are still there taking classes..Iam glad I took the kama kazi crash course and very glad to get it done with! WHAT WAS I THINKINGH?? running a start up business full time and then some and going to school??

BUt it has paid off for sure! Anyway, I love what I am doing. Not making a million dollars but have the freedoms to do things I want like Kauai last April and surfing in the morning before I come in. I "plan" on takeing a trip to BALI to a all inclusive SURF RESORT called surf goddess...I can surf in the day and the spa by night. (all women resort) We know how to do Surf trips!! whoo hoo!!!

anyway...

my website is www.skinspaorangehills.com

I am in Orange County, never married welll Married to my spa actually HAHA

oh and as soon as I started my biz I knew I wanted to do private label which I did do through Preston. ;-)

see you in the forum

Good to see you Dawn!!

Thank you Lisa ..I know long time no see.

Hi Dawn,

Nice to meet you!

"Surf Goddess," how cool is that!

Hey Douglas

Thanks so much for that inspirational piece and your unequivocal praise!-lol I have always regarded you as my mentor and the reason I have succeeded. Every now and then I find myself experiencing these things you describe, but with awareness and tenacity I try to learn from it and move forward. I'm so glad you have created this forum and I will be visiting it more often.

Hope to see you in Sante Fe before next year..

All my Love!

Chreeeeeestopher! Hi and welcome!

Thanks!! It feels like I'm home again....Ohmmmmmmm

Hi Chris and everyone!

Yep, in the course of spa and esthetics business management we get daily (and sometimes repeat) challenges, disappointments, frights and epiphanies, all the way up to the last day we're open or own one. No small company operation is free of this phenomenon. I bitterly remember the dreaded 7:00 AM Sunday morning call from the newly arriving opening concierge, "Hate to tell you this but _______ called in sick and there's no one available to do her facials..." Which meant I HAVE TO DO THEM! Never mind that I put in the past 6 days of 13-hour shifts at the spa, am tired as hell and have been called in to do the same thing twice in the last week already. Sure, we could just cancel those appointments and I'd be free to sleep in bliss and contentment... But that was never going to happen. I cared too much and was terrified of losing business since making money was tough enough as it was. More importantly, we put those clients first (at least some of us did) so telling them that we couldn't deliver their appointments was always a dead last option (such as when I couldn't be reached by phone for some reason, and rarely at that!) Sunday mornings were always the most likely time for sudden sicknesses (dude, I can sooooo handle a ninth martini!) It was like discovering that you had a staff half-filled with cloned Amy Winehouses, complete with imbibing and reactive characteristics. Call them on their stuff and you become a tyrannical, insensitive, fire belching demon! Escalation is always the best defense...

Ah, but that was so long ago. Now, if the phone rings in the morning, any morning, it's just our landscaper apologizing for having to make a materials stop en-route to our property. An apologetic landscaper! I wonder if he ever thought about becoming an esthetician? We could've used him.

Lisa and I are on vacation until Nov. 30 but are checking in from time to time (wifi permitting) to read the forum. Loving our old haunts in norcal but longing for the sunny, clear fall days of Santa Fe. Almost forgot what the damp coastal gloom is like. Now that we've been duly reminded we'll look forward to the retreat home.

Thank you all for participating here! We can learn so much from the experiences and discoveries of one another co-participating in this wonderful career field. Sure, it's a brutal thing now and then but, notice that we're all still here?

Have a great Thanksgiving, stay safe on the roads, and we'll stop in again soon!